Filing a Complaint Regarding the 2005 Travel Management Rule & A Request to Rescind

Proposed Motorized Use in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon Under Travel Management if Adopted.

Have You Been Affected by the 2005 Travel Management Rule?

Good morning, everyone. Have you or your family been affected by the U.S. Forest Service’s 2005 Travel Management Rule? Has it restricted your access to areas for family firewood, driven you away from traditional hunting grounds, or hindered your access to grazing allotments, irrigation sources, or mining claims? If so, you are not alone—and we encourage you to speak out.

The USDA has introduced a Lawfare Complaint Portal at: https://www.usda.gov/lawfare. This platform aims to showcase how USDA policies—such as the Travel Management Rule—have been misapplied to target, harass, and marginalize local rural residents. It’s time these voices are heard.

We are urging individuals across the West to file formal complaints demonstrating how this rule has adversely affected our communities. Our goal is simple: to make it clear that the 2005 Travel Management Rule is causing more harm than good—and must be repealed. Accessing the public lands that have supported our families for generations should not be a crime.

To assist, we’ve provided a template “description” you can copy, paste, and personalize when completing the complaint form. Your words are important, and your story helps build the case.

Template Description (Edit as Needed):

The 2005 Travel Management Rule has been used not as a tool for balanced forest stewardship, but as a mechanism to systematically restrict access to public lands—especially in rural areas where communities have long relied on these lands for firewood, hunting, grazing, recreation, and cultural practices. Its implementation has led to the closure and decommissioning of thousands of miles of roads without proper consideration for the socioeconomic impact on rural families, emergency response times, or traditional land use.

Rather than supporting active land management or collaborative planning, the Travel Management Rule has unfairly targeted rural residents—many of whom have no alternative means of access—and replaced practical land use with a rigid preservationist approach. These road closures have isolated communities, disrupted livelihoods, and denied local residents access to the very landscapes they’ve stewarded for generations.

I respectfully urge the Department and the U.S. Forest Service to rescind the 2005 Travel Management Rule and adopt a new approach that honors local input, restores access, and respects the rights of rural Americans on public lands.

Please consider submitting your story today—and help highlight the long-standing harm this rule has caused to the people who live closest to and care most about our national forests. Submit your complaint now at: https://www.usda.gov/lawfare.